Captain Blood
1935, 119 minutes, Black & White, Adventure. Directed by Michael Curtiz for
Warner Bros. Pictures.
Cast:
Captain Blood is based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini and was adapted for the screen by Casey Robinson. It is the story of Peter Blood, a British doctor, who is wrongfully accused of treason against the British King and sold into slavery in the Caribbean. Through a twist of fate Blood finds himself escaping slavery, commandeering a Spanish ship and becoming a pirate captain.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Sound Recording for
Nathan Levinson (who lost the award to Douglas Shearer for Naughty Marietta) and one for Best Picture (which was another loss, this time to Mutiny on the Bounty). The film also marks Errol Flynn's first starring film role and the first time he was paired with Olivia De Havilland, who was only 19 years old at the time. It is also features the first film score for Erich Wolfgang Korngold who would go on to win Academy Awards for his scores of Anthony Adverse and The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Flynn was not the first choice for the role of Blood. The role was originally intended for Frederic March, but he was instead assigned to the aforementioned Anthony Adverse. Robert Donat and Ronald Colman were also considered for the role, but Flynn's screen-test was apparently the deciding factor for his inclusion in the film.
The film starts a bit slowly, but once the plot starts moving it becomes a very exciting film. It's a good look at why Flynn and De Havilland were often paired. They have a great onscreen chemistry. The film also pits Rathbone and Flynn against each other for the first time. This pairing would also be reprised in The Adventures of Robin Hood. The swashbuckling is good and this is a great place to see the flair that made Flynn a star.
Sources:
http://imdb.com
Microsoft Cinemania '95
Steven Bach. The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1988.